mBSfcM 


AT  THE  CELEBRATION  OF 


i!t:i 


}&j« 

Kibe 


liitl 


EMANCIPATION  DAY, 


jjji 

!!!! 

;i!s 

m 

ft!;: 


:::»  g 


DELIVERED  BY 


COL.  H.  L.  PIKE, 


&-• 


liiijil 


AT 


RALEIGH,  §  C.,  JANUARY,  1870. 


. 


.#  l  % ® 


RALEIGH: 

STANDARD  STEAM  BOOK  AND  JOB  PRINT. 

1870. 


ADDRESS. 


Friends  and  Fellow-Citizens  : 

We  meet  here  to-day  to  celebrate  one  of  the  grandest  acts 
the  world  has  ever  witnessed,  for  we  celebrate  a  daj^ 
whose  sun  rose  on  a  race  of  slaves,  but  whose  parting  beams 
shone  on  the  same  men — slaves  no  more — but  free  men  forever. 
This  day  will  ever  rank  in  history  as  one  of  the  great  land¬ 
marks  of  the  world’s  progress,  for  it  was  the  death  blow  to 
'human  slavery. 

Why,  my  friends,  should  I  recall  the  days  of  slavery  ?  Why 
•should  I  talk  of  the  war  which  gave  you  your  liberties  ?  Are 
not  the  scenes  of  the  past  too  fresh  in  your  memories  to  need 
recalling?  Yes.  Far  better  then  to  let  the  dead  past  bury  its 
dead,  and  for  us  of  the  present  to  talk  of  the  present,  and  of 
those  things  which  will  do  most  to  bring  us  good  in  the  future. 
Yet,  before  we  draw  the  curtain  over  the  past,  let  us  do  honor 
to  the  memory  of  that  great  and  good  man  to  whom  much, 
very  much,  of  the  happiness  of  this  day  is  due — to  Abraham 
Lincoln. 

His  name  will  ever  be  the  one  most  dear  to  the  colored  men 
of  America,  for  to  him  more  than  to  any  other  man  they  owe 
their  freedom.  It  was  his  brain  which  conceived  the  emanci¬ 
pation  proclamation  ;  his  strong  will  that  brought  others  to 
see  its  beneficence  and  wisdom ;  his  hand  which  signed  the 
paper  which  struck  from  the  slave  his  shackles  and  caused  him 
to  stand  before  the  world  free  and  unfettered — a  man  among 
men.  Who  does  not  remember  the  thrill  that  quivered  from 
nation  to  nation  when  it  was  announced  to  the  world  that 
slavery  was  Hoad  forever  in  America?  Who  of  you,  my 
friends,  does  not  remember  with  what  a  mingled  feeling  of 


doubt  and  happiness  you  heard  that  u  Abe  ”  Lincoln  had  set 
all  the  negroes  free 

And  as  the  tide  of  war  rolled  on  with  its  varying  fortunes, 
but  ever  onward  march,  who  ot  you  does  not  remember  that 
he  knew  that  it  meant  freedom  to  the  black  man  ? 

And  when  the  close  of  the  war  came — when  the  shattered 
army  of  Lee  surrendered  to  the  serried  legions  of  Grant — when 
the  last  army  of  the  Confederacy  was  surrendered  by  J ohnson 
to  Sherman — there  was  not  a  colored  man  in  all  the  South  who 
did  not  shout  with  joy,  for  the  death  of  the  Confederacy 
secured  his  freedom.  Then  the  day,  whose  seventh  return  we 
now  celebrate  became  the  dearest  day  of  all  the  year  to  every 
colored  man,  for  it  was  the  day  which  made  him  a  freeman. 
And  now,  as  they  will  for  all  time  to  come  upon  the  recur¬ 
rence  of  this  day,  the  colored  men  meet  to  celebrate  the  pro¬ 
clamation  which  released  them  from  a  cruel  and  unjust  bond¬ 
age,  and  made  them  free  citizens  of  a  free  country.  And  upon 
this  day  the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln  will  be  blessed  by 
every  colored  man,  for  he  lived  the  champion  of  their  rights. 
His  memory  will  be  held  sacred  in  their  hearts,  for  he  died  a 
martyr  to  love  of  his  country  and  his  fellow-men. 

But,  fellow-citizens,  the  events  of  the  past  have  imposed 
upon  you  many  and  grave  responsibilities.  They  have  eleva¬ 
ted  you  from  the  low  position  which  unjust  laws  and  the 
prejudices  of  ignorant  or  blinded  men  caused  you  to  so  long 
occupy.  They  have  put  upon  you  the  grave  responsibilities 
which  rest  upon  every  American  citizen.  You  are  now  apart 
of  the  American  people,  enjoying  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
enjoyed  by  any  citizen  of  any  State.  To  properly  exercise  the 
rights  pertaining  to  citizenship  is  no  easy  task,  for  according 
to  the  manner  in  which  they  are  exercised  depends  the  welfare 
of  the  State  and  nation.  If  the  citizens  act  rightly,  with  dis¬ 
cretion,  with  a  desire  to  do  all  in  their  power  for  the  good  ot 
the  State  and  the  nation,  then  will  both  prosper,  and  every  citi¬ 
zen  reap  his  share  of  the  common  good.  But  if  the  rancor  of 
political  strife  blinds  the  people  to  the  claims  of  justice  and 


to  the  voice  of  prudence,  then  will  their  acts  be  injurious  to 
the  State  and  nation,  both  will  suffer,  and  the  result  will 
be  misery  to  the  people. 

In  these  times  when  the  bitter  feelings  engendered  by  four 
long  years  of  civil  war  have  not  yet  had  time  to  subside,  and 
when  the  spirit  of  party  is  too  apt  to  blind  men’s  eyes  to  the 
result  of  political  action,  I  do  not  deem  it  inappropriate  for 
me  to  allude  to  the  duty  of  the  colored  people  in  their  new 
capacity  as  citizens.  But  in  all  that  I  may  have  to  say  upon 
this  point,  I  wish  it  distinctly  understood  that  I  do  not  speak 
as  a  party  man,  nor  do  I  address  you,  my  friends,  as  party  men. 
I  speak  simply  as  a  citizen  addressing  his  fellow-citizens,  and 
without  one  shade  of  party  feeling  prompting  anything  I  may 
say.  I  speak  to  you  as  men  wdiom  a  cruel  system  has  kept 
from  the  blessings  of  education,  has  deprived  of  the  means 
of  attaining  scholastic  or  political  information,  and  as  men  who 
are  ea^er  to  know  what  you  shall  do  for  the  elevation  of  your 
race  and  the  consequent  benefit  of  your  country.  You  have 
but  recently  emerged  from  a  condition  of  bondage,  and  have 
been  suddenly  put  into  the  possession  of  all  the  rights  of 
American  citizens.  You  are  anxious  to  know  in  what  manner 
you  can  use  those  rights  to  the  greatest  good  of  your  State  and 
nation.  You  are  anxious  to  learn  in  what  manner  you  can  do 
most  for  the  elevation  of  your  race,  that  you  may  prove  to  the 
world  that  the  color  of  the  skin  does  not  alter  the  qualities  of 
the  brain  or  heart.  In  short,  you  are  anxious  to  hear  anything 
that  may  aid  you  in  your  progress  as  men — as  citizens.  It  is 
of  these  things  that  I  wish  to  speak  to  you,  and  I  think  no  time, 
no  dav,  so  appropriate  for  so  doing  as  this,  for  seven  short 
years  ago  to-day  you  received  from  the  President  and  people 
of  the  United  States  the  right  to  call  yourselves  American 

citizens. 

Then  to-day  I  speak  to  you  of  the  things  which  you  wish  to 
hear ;  I,  who  did  all  in  my  power  to  aid  you  to  obtain  your 
rights  ;  I,  who  have  been  with  you  in  the  great  work  which 
has  secured  to  the  colored  people  of  Yorth  Carolina,  of  the 


4 


South,  the  position  which  they  now  occupy.  And  I  stancD 
before  you  to-day  and  say,  Friends,  hear  my  words,  for  they 
come  from  one  who  has  earned  with  his  blood  the  right  to* 
speak  them. 

Then,  the  first  tiling  to  which  I  wish  to  direct  your  atten¬ 
tion  is  the  subject  of  education.  Upon  this,  more  than  alL 
else,  does  the  welfare  of  the  colored  people  depend.  The  peo¬ 
ple  who  are  best  educated  are  the  most  prosperous  and  the- 
most  happy.  They  are  also  the  most  influential,  because  they 
are  able  to  do  the  right  things  at  the  right  times.  They  are 
less  apt  to  be  deceived  by  demagogues  and  by  unscrupulous 
politicians,  for  they  can  read  and  judge  for  themselves  concern¬ 
ing  the  issues  of  the  day.  Look  at  the  colored  people  in  our 
own  State.  How  many  of  them  have  a  commonly  good  edu¬ 
cation  ?  Not  one  in  ten  thousand,  and  the  consequence  is  that 
the  colored  people  are  unable  to  obtain  positions  where  good 
pay  rewards  intelligence  and  capability,  but  are  obliged  to 
confine  themselves  almost  entirely  to  such  work  as  requires- 
only  manual  skill.  The  first  and  greatest  aim  of  the  colored 
people  should  be  to  obtain  school  privileges  for  their  race.  To< 
this  end  they  should  see  that  school  houses  are  erected  in  every 
election  precinct,  that  colored  children,  and  even  colored  men,, 
may  acquire  an  education  which  will  fit  them  to  better  per¬ 
form  their  duties  as  citizens,  and  greatlj7  add  to  their  chances- 
for  prosperity  as  men  who  are  compelled  to  work  for  a  living. 
The  better  educated  a  man  is  the  greater  are  his  capabilities  as 
a  citizen,  and  the  better  his  chances  for  political  preferment. 
Your  education  will  do  everything  to  elevate  the  condition  of 
your  race  and  to  put  it  in  a  position  to  compel  the  respect  and 
attention  of  the  world.  By  becoming  educated  men  you  will 
become  qualified  to  perforin  all  the  duties  of  citizenship  and  to- 
intelligent^  discharge  the  duties  of  any  office  to  which  you 
may  be  elected  by  your  fellow  citizens.  With  education  will 
come  refinement  and  appreciation  of  those  moral  qualities 
which  make  society  better  and  higher.  Then  will  intellect  and 
moral  worth  assert  itself,  and  then  will  the  wheat  be  separated 


from  the  chaff.  Then  will  the  demarcation  lines  of  society  begin 
to  be  drawn  among  yon  as  they  are  now  drawn  among  your 
white  fellow  citizens.  Then  every  colored  man  will  have  the 
chance  to  fix  his  own  worldly  position,  as  has  now  every  white 
man.  This  you  cannot  now  do  because  of  that  ignorance, 
which  is  common  to  you  all,  and  which  enfolds  all  so  closely 
that  the  light  of  genius  is  hidden,  and  the  brightest  mind  can 
scarcely  elevate  itself  above  the  common  level.  This  ignorance 
is  not  the  fault  of  the  colored  man,  and  therefore  no  white 
man  has  a  right  to  deride  the  colored  man  for  want  of  educa¬ 


tion,  or  for  the  mistakes  which  may  arise  from  that  want, 
for  the  ignorance  of  the  black  man  was  forced  upon  him  by 
the  white  man,  and  all  possible  means  were  used  to  prevent 
him  from  ridding  himself  of  it,  and  the  most  stringent 
laws  wrere  enacted  to  prevent  him  from  learning  to  read, 
even  his  Bible.  From  these  facts  the  colored  men  have 
no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  their  present  ignorance  for  it 
results  from  no  fault  of  their  own.  But  now  those  unjust 
laws  are  no  longer  in  force,  and  the  colored  man  has  the  same 
educational  privileges  as  has  the  white  man.  Now  if  you  do 
not  educate  yourselves  and  children  the  blame  is  yours. 
You  are  now  a  part  of  the  body  politic  and  have  the  same 
rights  as  other  citizens.  You  are  entitled  to  your  proportion¬ 
ate  number  of  schools,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  every  colored  man 
to  see  that  the  rights  of  his  people  are  accorded  to  them. 

The  following  statistics  concerning  the  number  of  colored 
schools  in  the  South  will  be  interesting  to  you  all : 

The  whole  number  of  colored  schools  of  every  description  m 
the  South  is  5,454,  with  9,503  teachers  and  256,353  scholars. 
Of  these  3,314  schools  are  regularly  reported,  with  204,253 
scholars,  of  which  192,227  were  slaves.  The  colored  people 
sustain  wholly,  or  in  part,  1 ,581 ;  own  759  buildings  themselves, 
and  are  furnished  772  buildings  by  the  Bureau.  In  the  last  year 
Virginia  has  gained  50  schools  ;  North  Carolina  83  schools, 
with  3,209  pupils  ;  Georgia  105  schools,  with  4,527  pupils ; 
Mississippi  67  schools,  with  2,973  pupils,  and  Tennessee  95 


6 


■schools,  with  4,343  pupils.  The  other  Southern  States  show 
tin  crease,  but  not  so  much. 

From  tliis  it  will  be  seen  that  while  North  Carolina  is  ahead 
•of  many  Southern  States  she  is  behind  others.  This  should 
not  be,  for  in  no  State  of  the  Union  are  the  colored  people 
•more  intelligent,  more  industrious,  or  better  citizens  in  North 
'Carolina.  Therefore  it  is  not  too  much  to  assume  that  the 
colored  people  of  North  Carolina  should  have  more  schools 
than  many  other  States  whose  colored  population  is  even 
larger  than  our  own.  In  this  the  colored  people  should  be 
assisted  by  their  white  friends,  and  no  man  should  receive  the 
■support  of  colored  men  who  is  not  a  friend  of  universal  edu¬ 
cation,  and  who  will  not  do  all  in  his  power  to  secure  a  good 
free  school  system  to  our  State.  This  system  is  now 
most  needed  by  all.  Hitherto  only  the  children  of  the 
rich  have  been  able  to  obtain  an  education.  For  them  Col¬ 
leges,  Universities  and  Seminaries  have  been  open,  but  the 
poor  man  was  unable  to  send  his  children  to  schools  so  expen¬ 
sive.  Thus  it  is  that  so  very  many  poor  men  are  totally  with¬ 
out  education,  or,  at  best,  can  only  read  or  write  just  enough 
to  be  able  to  transact  the  most  common  business. 

The  common  school  system  will  do  away  with  the  ignorance 
which  now  oppresses  all  classes  of  laboring  men,  both  white  and 
•colored.  To  the  colored  men,  especially,  will  they  prove  of 
benefit,  because  they  will  enable  him  to  enter  into  pursuits 
which  before  have  been  closed  against  him  on  account  of  his 
color,  and  from  which  he  is  now  barred  only  by  want  of  edu¬ 
cation.  Let  him  possess  that  education  so  necessary  to  success 
in  almost  every  business  of  life  and  at  once  a  broad  field  is 
•opened  to  him  in  which  the  different  gifts  of  mind  or  taste  can 
•determine  his  choice  of  occupation.  This  done,  the  social 
prosperity  of  the  colored  race  is  incalculably,  advanced  and 
intelligence,  sterling  worth  and  business  capacity  will  melt 
away  the  prejudice  of  color,  and  give  to  the  colored  man  the 
chance  to  fix  his  own  position  in  the  world.  Knowing  these 
.things  then,  should  you  not,  my  friends,  do  all  in  your  power 


7 


to  secure  the  advantages  of  education  '(  Should  you  not  be 
willing  to  make  many  sacrifices  in  the  present  to  obtain  the 
great  advantages  which  they  will  return  you  in  the  future  t 
Then  never  forget  that  the  educational  interests  of  the  State 
are  dearer  to  you  than  all  others,  and  see  that  you  are  not 
deprived  of  them.  Build  up  the  school  houses,  and  every 
school  will  be  a  round  in  the  ladder  which  will  enable  you  to 
reach  that  plain  of  intelligence  now  occupied  by  the  rest  of 
the  citizens  of  your  nation.  Then  will  you  have  performed 
a  great  part  of  the  work  of  convincing  a  prejudiced  world  of 
your  titness  to  enjoy  and  wisely  use  the  rights  and  privileges 
which  seven  years  ago  were  bestowed  upon  you,  and  the 
anniversary  of  whose  bestowal  we  are  celebrating  to-day. 

And  now  a  few  words  more  and  I  shall  be  done.  Without 
at  all  indicating  any  political  preference,  I  wish  to  impress 
upon  the  colored  men  of  North  Carolina  the  necessity  for  unity 
in  all  things.  The  prejudices  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  cannot  be  done  away  with  in  five  years,  and  there  are 
thousands  of  white  men  who  view  the  freedom  of  the  colored 
men  with  anger  and  hatred.  They  cannot  be  made  to  believe 
that  it  is  right  for  the  black  man  to  enjoy  the  same  rights  as 
the  white  man.  They  believe  in  the  old  slaveholders  dogma — 
of  ,£  a  white  man’s  government,”  and  are  filled  with  bitterness 
when  the}^  see  their  former  slaves  in  the  enjoyment  of  freedom 
and  exercising  the  rights  of  citizenship.  There  are  many  men 
who  would  do  all  in  their  power  to  deprive  the  colored  man  of 
the  right  of  suffrage  and  to  take  away  all  the  privileges  he 
now  enjoys.  There  are  other  men  who,  forgetful  of  all  but  their 
own  selfish  interests,  would  use  the  colored  people  to  elevate- 
themselves,  and  that  object  obtained,  forget  the  men  to  whom 
they  owed  their  prosperity.  In  view  of  these  circumstances, 
it  behooves  the  colored  people  of  this  State  to  act  with  wisdom. 
Above  all  things,  let  them  preserve  their  unity,  and  always  act 
together  with  an  eye  to  the  advancement  of  their  race 
and  the  preservation  of  the  rights  they  already  enjoy.  If  there 
are  differences  of  opinion  among  you  upon  any  important  sub- 


8 


ject,  political  or  otherwise,  do  not  divide  your  strength  and  allow 
your  enemies  to  beat  you  in  detail,  where  they  would  fail  if  you 
were  united.  Consult  among  yourselves.  Determine  what  policy 
yon  wTill  pursue,  what  men  and  measures  you  will  support,  and 
then  let  that  policy  and  those  men  and  measures  be  supported 
by  every  colored  man  who  has  the  welfare  of  his  race  at  heart. 
You  are  independent  citizens,  and  are  qualified  to  decide  for 
yourselves  what  things  you  like  best,  and  should,  therefore, 
never  allow  yourselves  to  be  driven  or  led  by  any  man,  white 
or  black,  into  measures  you  do  not  like.  Think  for  yourselves, 
met  for  yourselves,  and  let  the  will  of  the  majority  rule.  Never 
trust  too  much  to  any  one  man,  be  he  white  or  black,  for  men 
so  trusted  are  apt  to  think  that  they  rule  and  command  the 
people  who  trust  them,  and  men  who  so  think  are  always 
neglectful  of  the  interests  of  their  friends  and  supporters. 

Trust  a  man  just  so  long  as  you  believe  that  he  is  true  to  you 
and  your  interests,  and  not  a  minute  longer.  Once  you  have 
reason  to  suspect  that  a  man  you  have  trusted  has  proved 
unfaithful  to  you,  throw  him  aside,  for  you  have  reason  to  fear 
that  he  will  injure  you  and  your  cause.  The  acts  of  men,  not 
their  words,  are  the  true  tests  of  their  good  faith.  If  you  trust 
a  man  and  he  does  nothing  for  you  in  return,  and  shows  no 
interest  in  your  welfare,  then  you  have  trusted  a  bad,  a  selfish, 
an  ungrateful  man,  and  should  trust  him  no  more.  If  you 
trust  a  man  and  he  does  as  much  or  more  for  you  than  he  does 
for  himself,  he  is  just  the  man  you  want,  and  one  that  you 
should  be  proud  of  possessing.  In  these  troubled  times  these 
things  are  most  important  to  you,  and  therefore  I  speak  of 
them. 

And  nowr,  my  friends  and  fellow-citizens,  I  have  said  ail 
that  I  think  I  should  say,  for  I  do  not  wish  to  longer  engage 
your  attention,  when  there  are  so  many  distinguished  gentle¬ 
men  waiting  to  address  you.  The  honor  you  have  done  me 
in  selecting  me  to  address  you,  I  fully  appreciate,  and  I  thank 
you  for  it.  Whatever  wiil  tend  to  the  good  of  the  colored 
people  of  North  Carolina,  will  ever  command  my  warmest 
sympathies  and  my  best  services,  and  I  hope  to  live  to  see  that 
day  when  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  this  great  land 
there  will  be  a  great,  a  prosperous  and  a  united  people,  and 
when  there  shall  be  no  American  citizen  slighted  because  ot 
race  or  color. 


Microfilmed 

S0L1NET/ASERL  PROJECT 


ggflll 


3ra# $3L  3 


ill 
iljlpL... 

a  II 


ilSijySli 


<  i  insm*  »•» 


isilHISp 


1!  !  i  I  iiiiiiii 
11 


